[Frontiers in Bioscience 11, 2574-2589, September 1, 2006] Nutritional and medicinal use of Cactus pear (Opuntia spp.) cladodes and fruits Jean Magloire Feugang 1, Patricia Konarski 1, Daming Zou 1, Florian Conrad Stintzing 2 and Changping Zou 1 1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA, 2 Institute of Food Technology, Plant Foodstuff Technology, Hohenheim University, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Abstract 2. Introduction 3. Botanical Aspects, geographical distribution and production 3.1. Botanical Aspects 3.2. Distribution 3.3. Production 4. Cactus constituents 4.1. Amino acids, vitamins, and carotenes 4.2. Minerals and organic acids 4.3. Sugars and lipids 4.4. Phenolic compounds 4.5. Betalains 5. Cactus utilization as food, medicine and industrial purposes 5.1. Nutritional use 5.2. Medicinal use 5.2.1. Anticancer effect 5.2.2. Anti-oxidant properties 5.2.3. Anti-viral effect 5.2.4. Anti-inflammatory effect 5.2.5. Anti-diabetic (type II) effect 5.2.6. Anti-hyperlididemic and -hypercholesterolemic effects 5.2.7. Further positive health effects 5.3. Further uses 6. Conclusions and perspectives 7. Acknowledgements 8. References 1. ABSTRACT 2. INTRODUCTION Natural products and health foods have recently The growing demand for nutraceuticals is received a lot of attention both by health professionals and paralleled by an increased effort in developing natural the common population for improving overall well-being, products for the prevention or treatment of human diseases. as well as in the prevention of diseases including cancer. In According to several studies demonstrating both cactus this line, all types of fruits and vegetables have been re- fruit and cladode yielding high values of important evaluated and recognized as valuable sources of nutrients, such as betalains, amino compounds including nutraceuticals. The great number of potentially active taurine, minerals, vitamins, as well as further antioxidants, nutrients and their multifunctional properties make cactus the cactus pear (Opuntia spp.) appears to be an excellent pear (Opuntia spp.) fruits and cladodes perfect candidates candidate for the inclusion in food. Even though Native for the production of health-promoting food and food Americans and ancient medicine have realized its anti- supplements. Although traditionally appreciated for its diabetic and anti-inflammatory function, Opuntia spp. have pharmacological properties by the Native Americans, hardly been considered in the development of health- cactus pear is still hardly recognized because of insufficient promoting food, most probably due to the scattered scientific information. However, recent studies on Opuntia information available. spp. have demonstrated cactus pear fruit and vegetative cladodes to be excellent candidates for the development of In addition, cactus pear has been mainly ignored healthy food. Therefore, this review summarizes current by the scientific community until the beginning of the knowledge on the chemical composition of Opuntia cacti 1980s when several studies and reports were published on with particular emphasis in its use as food and medicine. their biological functions. More recent investigations on the 2574 Cactus used as food and medicine Table 1. Selected Opuntia spp., their synonyms and locations 1 Subgenus Opuntia2 Species Common Synonyms Locations Opuntia basilaris Beavertail Cactus Southwest U.S. and northwest Mexico Opuntia chlorotica Pancake prickly pear, clockface prickly pear, flap jack prickly pear Native to southwest U.S. and the Sonoran an Mojave deserts Opuntia engelmannii Engelmann's pear, cow’s tongue cactus, Engelmann prickly pear Mexico Opuntia ficus-indica Indian fig, mission cactus, smooth prickly pear Originally in south-central Mexico; cultivated in warm parts of the world for its edible fruit Opuntia fragilis Little prickly pear, Brittle cactus, fragile prickly pear, loose prickly Northern Great Plains and as far west as British pear Columbia, also found in the southern Great Plains Opuntia humifusa, Opuntia Eastern prickly pear, low prickly pear, smooth prickly pear Throughout the U.S. east of the Great Plains and into compressa var. humifusa southern Ontario Opuntia leucotricha Arborescent prickly pear, Aaron’s Beard cactus, semaphore cactus, Mountains of Central Mexico duraznillo blanco, nopal blanco Opuntia macrocentra Black spined prickly pear, purple prickly pear Southwest U.S. and Northern Mexico Opuntia macrorhiza Plains prickly pear, starvation prickly pear, delicate prickly pear Throughout the Great Plains except for the northernmost areas (not found in North Dakota), and extending sporadically eastward as far as Kentucky. Opuntia microdasys Bunny ears prickly pear, Angels’ wings prickly pear Mexico (Hidalgo) Opuntia santa-rita Santa Rita Prickly Pear Texas, Arizona and Northern Mexico Opuntia stricta Coastal Prickly Pear, Yaaxpakan Coastal regions Opuntia polyacantha Hedgehog prickly pear, grizzly bear prickly pear Opuntia phaeacantha New Mexico prickly pear Opuntia lindheimeri, Opuntia Texas prickly pear engelmanii var. lindheimeri Opuntia littoralis Sprawling prickly pear, coastal prickly pear Opuntia erinacea Grizzly bear Opuntia Opuntia pusilla Creeping cactus Subgenus Cylindropuntia3 Cylindropuntia acanthocarpa Buckhorn cholla, major cholla Cylindropuntia arbuscula Pencil cholla, bush cholla Cylindropuntia bigelovii Teddy-bear cholla Cylindropuntiaa echinocarpa Silver cholla, golden cholla Cylindropuntia fulgida Jumping cholla Cylindropuntia imbricate Cane cholla, Tree cholla Cylindropuntia leptocaulis Desert Christmas cholla Cylindropuntia ramosissima Diamond cholla Cylindropuntia spinosior Tasajo cholla, morada cholla Cylindropuntia stanlyi Devil cholla, plateau cholla Cylindropuntia versicolor Staghorn Cholla 1 According to (3-9); 2 True prickly pears, often difficult to identify, due to hybridization; 3 Chollas chemical components and the nutritional value of Opuntia some of which are listed in table 1 (3-9). The prickly pear spp. have attracted attention both in food, nutritional, and plants are known for (a) their flattened stems, (b) the even pharmacological science. However, the scarcity of edibility of their pleasant-tasting fruits, (c) the areoles studies into the respective mechanism of positive actions on having minute-barbed spines easily detachable, (d) human metabolism still render cactus products unpopular rudimentary leaves on new pads, and (e) the seeds with a pale and thus undeveloped. Therefore, the present review covering (1). Cactus pear plants show a widespread and provides an overview on Opuntia fruit and cladode shallow root system ready to absorb water even from mist or a constituents including their pharmacological actions light rain. This allows the plants to take in water and store it described so far to offer a scientific basis for future studies sponge-like in the parenchyma. It has been demonstrated that and to achieve a more widespread recognition of this the ability of Cactaceae to retain water even under unfavorable valuable crop. climatic conditions (10) is due to the high mucilage production in both cladodes and fruits (11). 3. BOTANICAL ASPECTS, GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION AND PRODUCTION From a morphological point of view, the cactus pear plant can be divided into the root, the vegetative part, 3.1. Botanical Aspects the fruit and the flower. The vegetative or vegetable part, The term cactus (Cactaceae) refers to a group of frequently addressed as pads, joints, or cladodes are approximately 1,600 species in 130 genera subdivided in modified stems which replace the leaves in their the three subfamilies Pereskioideae, Opuntioideae and photosynthetic function. They are succulent and bear Cactoideae (1). The most common and widespread Opuntia organs with an ovoid or elongated form of 18–25 cm genus covered in this review regroups a number of more length. The outer cladode, the chlorenchyma, is crucial for than 300 species, among which over 100 have been found its photosynthetic action; the inner part is composed of a in wild habitats in Mexico, 60 of them being endemic (2). white medullar parenchyma mainly for water storage. The prickly pear cactus (Opuntia spp.), more recently re- named cactus pear, and the cholla (Cylindropuntia spp.) The cactus pear fruit also known as prickly pear, species represent the major branches of Opuntia cactus, tuna or fico d’india comes in a rainbow of colors from 2575 Cactus used as food and medicine Table 2. Chemical constituents of both despined cladodes and fruit pulp from Opuntia spp 1 Constituents Dry weight basis Fresh weight basis Cladodes Cladodes (g/100g) Fruit pulp (%)2 Water - 88-95 84-90 Carbohydrates 64-71 3-7 12-17 Ash 19-23 1-2 0.3-1 Fibers 18 1-2 0.02-3.15 Protein 4-10 0.5-1 0.21-1.6 Lipids 1-4 0.2 0.09-0.7 1 According to (30), (41) and (42). 2 All of which are similar to other fruits. white, green, yellow, orange, red, purple, and even brown. human consumption and also as fodder. The high season Interestingly, the pulp colors do not necessarily correspond for harvesting Opuntia cactus fruits is from April to August with those of the flowers, which may be canary yellow, in Africa and America (25), and November to December in orange or red-rose like. Fruit weights range from 100 to the Mediterranean regions (26). 150 g, depending on origin, cultivar and edaphic conditions. It is an oval and elongated berry with a thick 3.3.1. Cladodes pericarp and a juicy pulp with many seeds. The pulp is the The weight and